Many current chemical and biochemical processes involve fluid contact at a solid or supported liquid surface. Some nonexclusive examples of these processes include high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), membrane processes, filtration application and catalysis. A wide variety of materials have been used as the solid phase or support, including diatomaceous earth, alumina, glass beads, and cellulosic, synthetic or glass fibers.
Spherical particles such as glass beads, and particulate materials such as diatomaceous earths, alumina and the like have found particular utility in reactors as supports for biological species such as in enzyme, protein and cell immobilization. Particulates of these materials and glass beads have also been used in catalytic reactors and liquid phase chromatography. Problems occurring utilizing particulates is the difficult and tedious process involved in packing columns with these materials. The particles tend to bridge during filling and often require high pressure applied to them when packed in columns. A chromatography column utilizing glass beads, for example, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,219. Packing of fibers in loose configuration in random form have found some utility in providing filter tubes such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,540.
While solid supports have been employed in a multitude of chemical applications, the utilization of fibers, and in particular, glass fibers having substantial amounts of porosity imparted to them and/or being hollow in addition to being porous are particularly attractive. The attractiveness of porous and porous and hollow glass fibers results from the fact that they are generally inert to contamination by organics and are generally inert to biochemical contamination. Further, glass fibers can be cleaned readily with reagents without damage and can be, therefore, subjected to continuous reuse after cleaning.
One difficulty encountered in utilizing any fibers, and especially glass fibers, is the inability to pack sufficient quantities of fibers in a confined area in a convenient manner. Loading such fibers in a column or tube for use in a reaction vessel such as a chromatography column or as a part of a chemical reaction vessel, for example, a multi tube fixed bed catalytic reactor, or for other similar uses has heretofore not been of practical value. In particular, in loading a tube or column with glass fibers, care must be taken to insure that the fibers do not substantially abraid each other or abraid the sides of the columns to be packed. Abrasion can cause extensive damage to the glass fiber support material. Further, care must be taken to avoid any fusing or cracking of fibers that are placed in the tubes.